Thermionic tube socket



Oct. 5, 1943. H. H. EBY 2,330,817

THERMIONIC TUBE SOCKET Original Filed June 16, 1937 93 77 97, QQ/Og INVENTOR HUGH H.EBY

. ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 5,1943

THERMIONIC TUBE SOCKET Hugh H. Eby, Jenkintown, Pa., H. Eby, Inc., Philadelphia,

of Pennsylvania assignor to Hugh Pa., a corporation Original application June 16, 1937, Serial No.

148,546. Divided and her 18, 1940, Serial No.

this application Decem- 1 Claim. (01. 173-328) I This invention relates to thermonic tube sockets, and particularly to receptacles for radio tubes, and constitutes a division of application Serial Number 148,546, filed June 16, 1937, now matured into Patent N 0. 2,259,157.

The general theoretical requirements for such devices are well known and include uniform and low contact resistance, uniform and tight prong engagement, strength, attractiveness of appearance, as an attribute of sales appeal at least, even if mechanically of small moment, and'extreme economy in production cost. This latter manifests itself in susceptibility to mass production, in the reduction in amount and expense of material used, and, of probably greatest moment, in reduced labor costs. Other advantageous attributes include easy and cheap installation, susceptibility of the receptacle to changed con-,

tact relation, ease of attachment of the connec-- tors, etc.

It is among the objects of this invention; to secure each one of the foregoing advantages in socket receptacles; to provide a radio socket receiving housing, for mounting the sockets on a panel, of novelty and high utility; to provide a socket housing in which either a laminated or molded socket receptacle is interchangeably mountable; to improve molded sockets; to improve laminated sockets; to improve contactsfor receptacles; to provide a metal stamping in which parts have a snap or push fit to assemble a complete socket without eyeleting or riveting and with a minimum of labor; to improve radio socket contacts; to provide improvements on my earlier filed applications, Ser. No. 25,055, filed June 5, 1935, now matured into Patent No. 2,196,697, and Ser. No. 25,369 filed June 7, 1935, now matured into Patent No. 2,127,556; to provide a radio tube socket and mounting plate so arranged that after positioning the plate on a chassis the socket can be removed, either in whole or in part, to rotate itfor variation of indexing; and many other objects and advantages as will become more apparent as the description proceeds.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention a metal stamping is provided as the mounting sup port for the socket, within which a socket device is mounted, there being cooperating portions of socket and stamping to anchor the socket within the stamping.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this description;

Fig. 1 represents an assembly of base and mounting support in plan constituting an exemplinc'ation of the invention,

Fig. 2 represents a plan of the upper insulating plate of the assembled base shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 represents a;plan of the bottom insulating plate of the assembly of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 represents a plan of the mounting support of the'invention shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 represents a perspectiveof a contact such as may be associated with the plates of Figs. 2 and 3,

Fig. 6 represents affragmentjary plan partially broken away to show the. relation of the upper and lower plates with associated contacts, in the assembly of Fig. 1, p i

Fig. 7 represents a perspective of a form of contact of utility in the assembly of Fig. 5.

Referring to Fig. 4, a pan is shown in which a non-cylindrical base ismounted, the interior construction of which is the same as the forms of socket to be mounted, but which has an outer contour to register with the mounting support. The pan comprises the upper fiat surface having. ears 66, perpendicular wall 61 comprising two substantially parallel portions 68 and i0, and the short bottom flange 'Iljof substantially uniform width mounted on the perpendicular wall 61. Thewalls between the parallel spaced portions may be arcuate, or may be plane and initially parallel and perpendicular to the side walls 68 and 70, as shown at 13 and 14 in Fig. 1. With the forms shown in Fig. 1 the inserted socket may be disposed in any of four positions, with variations.

In its preferred embodiment an insulating plate 90 such as either a laminated sheet or a'molding of suitable dielectric material, is provided with a large center opening 9|, through which the guide prong of the tube may pass, if used, and with a plurality of oval contact apertures 92 disposed concentrically of the opening with the lateral smallest dimension substantially radial of the central aperture or axis. This plate or sheet is substantially square so as to drop into the square pan to disposition upon flange l I, and held against any material or appreciable lateral shift by the walls 68, 10, I3 and i4, and may be inserted either before or after the association with the contacts to be described. Obviously a difierent shape of pan will utilize a correspondingly different shape of plates.

The contact 93 comprises the tail piece or element 94, the backing portion 95, from which the side arms or wings 96 and 91 are bent outwardly and then toward each other with their side edges slightly spaced by the slot 98, and forming in cross section the generally oval contact substancontact any other cross sectional form may be resorted to that is possessed of reduced contact resistance and a tight grip. The end of the contact is slit longitudinally so that arm 91 has an integral substantially perpendicular flange I arranged to overlie the upper surface of the plate or sheet 90 adjacent the aperture 92 in which the contact is disposed and connected to the arm throughout an appreciable arcuate extent. It may be of slight arcuate extent if desired as long as support of the arm atga point on the plate spaced from the flanged lip IOI on the backing portion is provided. Flange I00 extends generally longitudinally of the contact aperture and toward the adjacent contact and its aperture. The backing portion 95 has the integral substantially perpendicular flange IOI extending arcuately for an appreciable extent but spaced somewhat from the flange I00. supporting flange |0I on the backing portion overlies the plate and has an edge I02 which substantially extends no closer to the edge of the supporting flange I00 on the arm of the contact in the adjacent contact aperture, than does the closest point of the other contact arm 96, which has no supporting lug. Another mode of description is that substantially no portion of supporting flange IOI extendspast a radius line of the plate tangential to, the outer surface of unflanged arm 96.

Obviously the contacts just described can be replaced by other contact and contact apertures arrangement.

It will be apparent that contacts as just described in the plate disclosed will enable the close association of the contacts to comport with the grouping of the contact prongs on the radio tube, without the leakage between contacts that occurs in other types of sockets. A clearance I03 is secured on the supporting plate.

In the sub-assembly of the articles it is sometimes desirable that the contacts be inserted in the plate and frictionally secured against fall- .ing out before a succeeding assembly step. This is not necessarily by a positive locking, as it is preferably merely by a detent, as the upper-plate,

to be described, completes the positive locking.

Such a detent might comprise the lateral pimple or bump I04 or a resilient tongue I05, suitably located below the supporting flanges, so as to be easily pushed past the opening 92, and to exert frictional resistance (at least) to withdrawal.

Assuming the sheet or plate 90 and the containedcontacts93 mounted in the pan of Fig. 4, or in any other shape of pan that might be desired, as a result of manual assembling operatially according to the Drawing Reissue Patent 20,162, although in the broader aspects of the tions only, it is ready for the cover plate. The cover plate I06 has an axial guide recess I01, proper to receive the axial guide of a radio tube,

:and of smaller diameter than apertureSl of the bottom plate. Guide groove I08 is formed as a construction of guide recess I01, and the plate has a plurality of prong contact apertures I09, an outer periphery IIO to conform to the shape of the pan, and is provided with a pair of locking lugs or ears III substantially diametrically spaced apart. The plate being pushed downwardly on the assembled bottom plate and contacts, lugs III push out selected spring lips 80, until the lugs enter and seat in windows or apertures therein.

A feature of interest in connection with the use of laminated sheets in contrast to molded sheets lies in the fact that as provided to the trade the laminated sheets may vary somewhat in thickness. With a fixed predetermined pan construction there may be situations in which because of the thickness variation the parts will be loose and not sufliciently tightly held. In this contingency it is contemplated that flange II may be provided with radial slots to provide a series of fingers I I2, which are initially bent slightly upwardly to receive the bottom plate,

and which are susceptible to resilient deflection downwardly to such point as may be necessary to enable proper seating and locking of the top plate.

It will be readily appreciated that the assembly of sheets, contacts and pan is one that permits easy and quick withdrawal of the cover plate to rotate same to change the indexing by or other predetermined intervals.

I claim:

A socket receptacle for radio tubes comprising a base plate of insulating material having a central aperture, a plurality of generally oval contact apertures in the plate surrounding the central aperture, a contact in each of a pair of adjacent contact apertures, each contact comprising a backing portion having an integral laterally extending supporting flange resting on the plate, a pair of arms mounted on the backing portion and bent outwardly and then back to bring the free edges of the contact arms into substantial adjacency, one arm only of which carries an integral laterally extending supporting flange engaging the plate and extending toward the arm of the adjacent contact which has no supporting flange to minimize leakage between the contacts, and means holding the contacts in the said plate.

HUGH H. EBY. 

